Fun Facts About the Name Minh
- More than 2 thousand babies named Minh: U.S. records list 2,407 babies given the name Minh from 1880 through 2025. Even 293 girls received the name Minh - about 1 girl for every 7 boys.
What Does the Name Minh Mean?
Minh is a Vietnamese given name, most often explained as "bright," "clear," or "intelligent." It comes from the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character 明 (Mandarin míng), which means "bright" or "clear." Sino-Vietnamese is the layer of Vietnamese vocabulary borrowed from Chinese and pronounced according to Vietnamese sound patterns; Vietnamese readers used these readings for Chinese characters for centuries, and names taken from Chinese characters are common in Vietnam.
Because Vietnamese is written with the Roman alphabet (quốc ngữ), the spelling "Minh" does not show which character stands behind it. Several Chinese characters share the Sino-Vietnamese reading minh, among them 明 "bright," 鳴 "to cry out, to sound," and 盟 "oath, alliance." A person named Minh is customarily understood to carry the "bright" sense, but without knowing the character the derivation is not certain. The name is not related to the native Vietnamese word mình ("body, self"), which is spelled similarly but has a different tone and a separate origin.
Minh Name History & Origins
Names built from Chinese characters entered Vietnamese usage through the long period of Chinese administration that began in the second century BCE and through the Confucian examination system, which required Vietnamese scholars to read and compose in Chinese. The Sino-Vietnamese reading of 明 was minh, and it appears in ordinary Vietnamese vocabulary as well as in personal names - for instance in quang minh ("bright, clear") and thông minh ("intelligent").
As a personal name, Minh can stand alone or form part of a two-element name, appearing either first (Minh Anh, Minh Tuấn) or second (Hoàng Minh, Chí Minh). It is given to both men and women. The name traveled with Vietnamese emigrants and is now used in Vietnamese communities in the United States, France, Australia, and elsewhere, where it is commonly written without diacritics as "Minh."
Hồ Chí Minh adopted the name Chí Minh (chí, "will, aspiration," plus minh, "bright") in the 1940s; both elements were already in ordinary use in Vietnamese names at the time.
How Popular is the Name Minh?
Minh has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1982. Its best rank was #1,018 in 1982.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #12,756 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #15,061 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #13,651 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #15,626 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #15,796 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #12,720 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #15,926 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #16,327 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #14,738 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #13,512 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #16,493 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #15,807 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #15,450 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #7,864 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #11,831 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #11,385 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #10,193 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #14,945 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #11,360 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #7,856 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #14,612 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,035 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1988 | #8,154 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #6,622 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1986 | #8,229 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #5,251 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1984 | #5,426 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1983 | #4,410 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1982 | #3,720 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1981 | #4,661 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1980 | #9,903 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #7,774 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #10,669 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,915 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 2024 | #3,125 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 2023 | #3,522 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2022 | #4,649 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2021 | #4,876 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #3,885 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2019 | #3,537 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2018 | #3,348 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2017 | #3,231 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2016 | #3,743 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2015 | #3,007 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2014 | #2,650 | 46 | 0.0024% |
| 2013 | #4,269 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2012 | #2,662 | 46 | 0.0024% |
| 2011 | #2,937 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2010 | #3,116 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2009 | #3,252 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2008 | #2,663 | 47 | 0.0023% |
| 2007 | #2,708 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 2006 | #2,963 | 38 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #2,687 | 41 | 0.0021% |
| 2004 | #2,775 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 2003 | #2,195 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 2002 | #2,623 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2001 | #2,463 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2000 | #2,968 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1999 | #2,656 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1998 | #2,901 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1997 | #1,720 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 1996 | #1,891 | 48 | 0.0025% |
| 1995 | #2,083 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1994 | #1,526 | 62 | 0.0032% |
| 1993 | #1,569 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1992 | #1,379 | 68 | 0.0034% |
| 1991 | #1,883 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #1,653 | 50 | 0.0024% |
| 1989 | #1,697 | 46 | 0.0023% |
| 1988 | #1,369 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1987 | #1,454 | 50 | 0.0027% |
| 1986 | #1,485 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 1985 | #1,254 | 59 | 0.0032% |
| 1984 | #1,219 | 57 | 0.0032% |
| 1983 | #1,064 | 70 | 0.0039% |
| 1982 | #1,018 | 80 | 0.0044% |
| 1981 | #1,121 | 67 | 0.0037% |
| 1980 | #1,337 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1979 | #1,656 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1978 | #2,344 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1977 | #2,751 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1976 | #2,217 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1975 | #5,238 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Minh Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Minh's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Minh's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.